Punxsutawney Phil, the world’s most famous groundhog, will make his 126th annual weather prediction today in Pennsylvania. Sunny conditions this morning in west-central Pennsylvania would allow Phil to see his shadow, foretelling another six weeks of wintery weather. Overcast skies would obscure Phil’s shadow and, according to legend, indicate that an early spring is in the offing. It’s not clear exactly how the shadow (or lack thereof) cast by a pudgy rodent in Pennsylvania can forecast national weather, but Phil has exactly the same chance of success on this 50/50 prediction as do the professional weather guys who are backed by supercomputers and centuries of meteorological data.

My calendar confirms that we are approaching the midway point of winter (spring begins on March 20). A check of the calendar was needed, because thus far we haven’t experienced much winter-like weather this winter. The cold fronts which control the winter weather in Southwest Florida have been few, far between, and weak, resulting in warm and mild weather during most of December and January. I’m not complaining —it’s a welcome respite after a couple of years with harsher-than-normal winters. Some plants are already shifting into spring mode with blossoms beginning to appear and higher-than-normal water temperatures have resulted in almost spring-like fishing for some fish in the Harbor.